Amour Nouvel
by Night Of The Land
Summary: Clarissa McClarin was new: New to the school, new to the state, new to the country. And she's caught the eye of a certain bad boy hotshot Son of Ipswich: Reid Garwin.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Amour Nouvel

Author: Night of the Land

Rating: M (for strong language and some adult themes)

Summary: Clarissa McClarin was new: New to the school, new to the state, new to the country. And she's caught the eye of a certain bad boy hotshot Son of Ipswich: Reid Garwin.

A/N: Okay guys, this is my first attempt at any sort of sexual content, so you have been warned! I don't know if it turned out okay, I hope so, but here's my first Covenant fic, hope you all enjoy. I should have Chapter 2 up sometime later this week. oh and the song is from "Toxic" by Britney Spears.

Chapter 1

Another boring day in hell as far as Reid Garwin was concerned. Science had never been his thing, neither had math, or come to think of it, nothing that involved school could be considered his thing. But thank God it was the last class before the weekend. So, trying not to yawn he continued the small circular doodles on the paper that had the lab assignment, thinking about his plans for the two days he would have off from this hell. He shifted on the hard lab bench and clenched his jaw, scrunching his eyes up in an attempt to hold back a yawn, but failed miserably. He let his head fall down on the lab table with a quiet thump, and modeled his "brother's" position.

Arms folded under his head, face first in the Chemistry book that was open, back slouched and his whole body relaxed, Pogue Parry was sound asleep. Reid snorted to himself, so much for Harvard, he thought with a smirk and rolled his eyes, kicking his brother's chair, only getting a grumbled "fuck off" in reply for his efforts. He chuckled darkly, that was real polite. Rolling his eyes again he focused on the paper he had just been covering with little swirls and circles. Something about finding the heat of fusion for water and then finding the percent error. Reid snorted mentally, what ever the hell that meant.

A commotion from the front of the room brought his head up from the paper. He raised a single eyebrow at the sight before him. Standing at the front of the lab was a tiny frail looking brunette. She had her back to the rest of the class and was conversing with the lab director Mr. Benton. She stood with her school bag clasped in front of her, almost as if she was shy, but the erect way she held herself, her shoulders back and head held up high, told Reid a different story. She turned slightly so that Reid could see the side of her face. Reid sat up and stared openly.

Must be the new girl, he thought, once again kicking his brother's seat, rolling his eyes at the sleepy retort of "go to hell". Leaning over he punched Pogue hard on the shoulder. The long haired teen came awake with a muffled curse. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head, shooting a glare at his long time friend and brother. "What the hell, man?" he grumbled.

Reid nodded to the front of the room with a look that said it all. Pogue's eyes drifted that way and his eyebrows hit his hair line and he let out a low whistle.

The tiny girl had turned to face the class. She had swept her long brown hair back into a loose messy bun on the top of her head, exposing a pale cherub face with full pouty lips and eyes so green Reid was not so sure they could be real. She was smiling at something that Mr. Benton was saying, her lips turned up, her eyes sparkled under the florescent lighting. Benton handed her a lab paper and pointed in Reid and Pogue's direction. Green eyes met blue and the smile on the girl's face became slightly pained.

Reid and Pogue exchanged looks and sat up straight as the girl headed in their direction, her face a mask of determination. With in moments she reached their table and sat her books down next to Reid. Green eyes shifted from Reid to Pogue back to Reid.

With a small sigh that sounded like one of defeat, she pulled a stool up to the table and sat down. "well…" she started softly, a lot of weight behind that single word.

Pogue leaned across the table and held out his hand, "Pogue Parry, it's lovely to have a beautiful addition to our table." He greeted her with a small wink.

Reid rolled his eyes at his brother and was preparing some smart ass retort when the girl spoke, her voice sending a tingle down Reid's spine.

"Clarissa McClarin, Mr. Parry, a pleasure." She replied, shaking Pogue's proffered hand. Her voice was soft and sweet, with a hint of a teasing tone underneath her seriousness. The gentle lilting of a foreign accent made all the words seem to have a sexual tension to them, at least that's what Reid's mind told him.

Pogue waved a hand in the air dismissively, "Please, name's Pogue, Mr. Parry is my father." He gave her a wink and she laughed. The sound once more sending a tingle down Reid's spine.

Pogue put a heavy hand on Reid's shoulder, "This bundle of sourness is…"

"Reid, Reid Garwin." Reid interrupted his brother shooting him a small frown, before turning back to the brunette vision before him. She held out a hand, "Clarissa McClarin." She smirked, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Garwin."

Reid returned her smirk and took her hand, but instead of shaking it like a normal person he lifted it to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles like some gallant knight of old. Pogue rolled his eyes, and scoffed, but neither seemed to notice, Clarissa was blushing prettily and Reid was smirking.

"Charmed." Reid murmured against her skin, before releasing her hand.

Before Clarissa had a change to reply the shrill sound of the dismissal bell echoed through the lab, soon followed by the scrapping of chairs and the voices of students excited about the weekend.

Clarissa stood and gathered her books, and before she knew it she was swept into a sea of people leaving the lab. The boys disappeared from view as she was pushed along.

"Clare! Clare! Over here!" A voice called from behind her, and Clarissa looked all around, only seeing a sea of unfamiliar heads and faces. She closed her eyes briefly, fighting back the terror that threatened to engulf her, and swallowed hard. A hand grabbed her arm, and she jumped and gasped.

"Hey, girl!" the happy voice of Lilly James said from beside her.

"Lilly!" Clarissa gasped a smile of relief on her face, "You frightened me."

Lilly laughed tossing her long blonde hair back from her blue eyes, "Sorry, thought you saw me coming."

Clarissa shook her head with a tiny nervous laugh, "No, I can't see anything in this bloody hallway." She murmured to her roommate. Lilly simply laughed, and nodded.

"Hey, Kate, Sarah." Lilly greeted the two other girls as they made their way to them.

"Hey-ya, Clare, Lil. We goin' to Nicky's tonight?" Kate asked, already undoing her school tie and unbuttoning her white top.

"I am." Lil replied, nodding as the four girls headed across the school lawn towards the dorms.

"Nicky's?" Clarissa asked her new found friends.

Kate and Sarah gave a little giggle. "Yeah, it's only the best place to hang in this town." Kate told her, with a wink.

"With any luck the guys'll be there and you can meet 'em." Sarah added with a smile.

Clarissa nodded understandingly, and said her goodbyes to the other girls as Lilly and she headed a little further down the hall to their own dorm.

Stretched out on her bed, lying on her back, hands laced behind her head she stared up at the ceiling. A small smile played on her lips as she thought about the blonde haired blue eyes gent she had met. As she conjured up an image of him in her head heat coiled at the base of her stomach and she sighed.

What was with her? By everything that she had heard from Lilly and the other (and had seen with her own eyes today in Chemistry) Reid Garwin was a lazy son of a bitch who was a player and cared for no one but himself. Quite a long ways away from her type, that's for sure.

Her thoughts were dragged away from Reid Garwin as he roommate emerged from the bathroom. Lilly's blonde hair was half up half down spilling down her back and over her shoulders in little ringlets. Blue eyes were circled in a thin line of eye liner, lashed coated in mascara. A light green top was cut low and showed off more cleavage then Clarissa thought that it should, an uber tiny miniskirt barely covered her bottom with heels that were so tall that she wasn't sure how Lilly planed to walk in them.

"How'd I look?" Lilly asked striking a pose.

Clarissa laughed. "You look great." She said, hopping off her bed and slipping her own simple ballet flats on. She straightened her own top, low cut pale pink with a white cami underneath. She grabbed her long coat from the bed and pulled it on, ignoring the disapproving sounds from Lilly. She'd been through the lecture when she'd put on a pair of jeans instead of a skirt.

"You ready?" Lilly asked, casting a critical eye over her roommate. The tiny brunette had her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head; her green eyes were ringed with eyeliner. Lilly gave a nod of approval at Clarissa's reply in the affirmative and grabbed her arm and dragged her from the room.

Outside they met Sarah and Kate. The two girls were dressed to the nines. Sarah in a purple low cut sweater and a dark longer skirt, her hair twisted up on her head, Kate in an orange top and a skirt just as short if not shorter than Lilly's. The three girls all giggled and headed out to the bar.

* * *

Reid Garwin lay on his back staring up at the ceiling. He had shed his school uniform the moment he entered the dorm he shared with the youngest of his brothers, Tyler. There was nothing more than he loved than the weekend. But this weekend he was faced with a problem, the mysterious Clarissa McClarin. Just the thought of her name sent a tingle of desire down his spine and straight to his groin. He closed his eyes and pictured her long brown hair falling around her cherub face, her eerie green eyes. He moaned softly and shifted slightly, his baggy jeans suddenly feeling too tight. His heart pounded in his chest as he saw the pale face flushed the plump lips parted in a sigh. In his head he could hear the softly accented voice whispering his name. Feel the long slender fingers tracing a path down his chest to his aching cock.

A pillow smacked him in face. He was jerked from his thoughts with a fetid curse. "What the hell, Baby-Boy?" he snarled at the laughing teen, sitting up on the bed, no longer hard.

"Man, whoever you were dreaming of…damn." Tyler trailed off with a laugh shaking his head at his older brother.

Reid rolled his eyes and simply flipped him off. Tyler laughed again.

"You ready to head out, man?" Tyler asked, tossing the pillow back to his own bed.

Reid flopped back onto his covers, "I'll catch up with ya later." He smirked at the younger teen, "I would like to continue my dream."

Tyler blushed slightly but chose not to comment, "All right, well don't take too long, man, Dick-Face needs to have his ass kicked in pool." He told his slightly older brother, "See ya later." Tyler slipped from the dorm room closing the door behind him quietly.

Reid rolled his eyes. Baby-Boy was so easy to embarrass. With a dark chuckle, he settled back on his bed, and closed his eyes once more. The cherub face with green glowing eyes floated in front of his vision again, and he stirred. With a gentle moan he ran his hands up under his shirt, tracing down his chest, imagining the soft slender fingers in place of his own larger calloused hands. His breathing quickened as he ran his hands over his nipples tweaking them moaning, imagining it was Clarissa's hands on him.

His cock now hard and pulsing, his hand traveled down his stomach and to his belt. In his mind it was Clarissa who was undoing his belt buckle, unsnapping the button, and teasingly pulling down the zipper. Lifting his hips he pulled his jeans and boxers down to his knees and traced small circled across his stomach and down until he cupped his cock in his hand. He moaned low and loud as he touched himself.

Moaning softly, he slid his hand up to the head of his cock and circled it with his thumb. He could almost feel Clarissa's hot breath on him as he moved his hand up and down, his other hand coming up to rolling his nipples between his fingers. He arched into the touch, and the face floating before him smirked. His breath quickened, as did his hand. Sweat broke out on his brow and he gave a low moan as heat coiled in the pit of his stomach.

His hand traveled from his nipples down his stomach. The muscles contracted and he moaned again, his hips thrusting up into his other hand. In his mind the soft voice gave a moan whispering in that exotic accent, "Come for me, Reid Garwin." With a shout Reid came, harder then he could remember coming in a while. Stars sparked behind his eyes and his breathing hitched in this throat.

Reid lay on his back panting, the pleasure still spiking through his veins. He opened his eyes and smirked down at himself. Eyes flashed black and his hand and stomach were clean. Rolling onto his side, he pulled his boxers and jeans back up and slipped out of bed. Buckling his belt he headed for the door, grabbing his keys from his desk.

As he passed the open bathroom door he caught sight of his reflection. His face was flushed, his eyes were bright and he smirked. He had that recently fucked look. Grabbing his beanie from his desk be pulled it over his head and headed out the door.

* * *

Clarissa was completely blown away by what she saw at Nicky's. All around were teens and adults, some dressed to the nines other simply in jeans and baggy hoodies. She smiled as Lilly lead her into the bar and the pulsing music hit her. When they had told her a bar, she had immediately pictured a pub like the one that had been located just down the road from her former home in London. This was completely different.

Lilly lead her over to a table located towards the back of the bar, two incredibly hot guys were seated laughing and joking with a guy that she recognized as Pogue Parry from earlier that day.

"Hey, boys." Lilly greeted, smirking as both brunettes turned to look at her.

"Hey-ya, Lil." One greeted. He was tall and dark, his chocolate brown eyes were warm and he was certainly built. He smiled up at Clarissa. "And who's this?" he smiled.

"Clarissa McClarin." She introduced herself with a little wave.

"Clare, this is Caleb Danvers." Lilly pointed to the guy who had spoken. He smiled at her briefly before turning back to Sarah who had placed herself in his lap. "Sarah and Caleb are together." Lilly explained with a smirk, before she pointed to the other brunette, "That's Tyler Simms."

Tyler gave Clarissa a small wave a tiny smile. His hair was cut short and his eyes were blue, but as blue as…. Clarissa gave herself a small shake, and returned Tyler's tiny wave.

"And that's…"

"Hullo, Mr. Parry." Clarissa greeted Pogue ignoring Lilly's look.

"Ms. McClarin." He replied with a chuckle, "Ladies, join us." He gestured to the empty seats before him, and they all took a seat.

The next hour was spent in idle conversation. Clarissa was laughing at something Tyler had said when a cold feeling washed over her. She turned towards the door , thinking that that could be the source of the cold. Her eyes widened as she saw who came in.

Reid Garwin. His icy blue eyes scanned the crowd, a smirk firmly in place. His platinum blonde hair was half hidden by the black stocking cap he had on his head. Baggy jeans and a large grey sweat shirt covered a body she was almost positive was amazing. Hands were covered in cut off black gloves, and fingers rolled an unlit cigarette idly.

He came up to the table, "How's the party boys?" he asked arrogantly, throwing himself down into a chair next to Clarissa.

"Good 'till you got here." Tyler snarked with a laugh, and the others laughed as well.

Reid flipped him off eyes scanning the room. Clarissa was about the ask him if he was looking for ass or what, when Kate suddenly screamed and hopped down from Pogue's lap, "C'mon! We gotta dance!" she grabbed Pogue's hand and dragged him to the dance floor. Sarah grabbed Caleb and followed her best friend's lead, pulling her boyfriend to the floor.

"C'mon, Clare!" Lilly grabbed both Tyler and Clarissa and pulled them to the dance floor. She started dancing, the beat thrumming through her. "C'mon, guys, dance!" she yelled above the music.

Clarissa shook her head, "I don't really dance."

"How can you not dance to this!" Lilly demanded, turning to grab Tyler, he placed his hands on her hips letting her grind into him.

Clarissa laughed, and attempted to dance a little as the chorus came on.

**Too high, can't come down**

**Losin' my head spinnin' round and round,**

**Do you feel me now?**

She spun around letting lose as the music and the beat thrummed through her veins. With her eyes closed she tossed her head back, pulling her hair down from its bun, letting it fall around her shoulders and fly around her as she moved.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist, and she gasped eyes flying open as she was pulled flush, back to front with a strong chest. She blushed slightly as she continued to move, grinding into who she thought was Tyler.

Hands moved to rest on her hips, guiding her movements. She smirked as she felt Tyler's hard-on against the small of her back. She closed her eyes again as she let lose. As the song came to an end she opened her eyes to see Lilly and Tyler still grinding together. She stopped dancing as panic sliced through her. If Tyler was there…then who the hell had she been grinding against?

Biting back an oath she pulled herself away from the strong arms and spun around only to have her heart drop. Icy blue eyes stared down at her, platinum blonde hair fell into one eye and Reid Garwin smirked down at her flushed face.

"Fuck." She swore as she pulled herself away from him eyes wide and visibly shaken. Panic coursing through her, she pushed her way towards the door, breathing hard, eyes wild. She couldn't believe it! She had just grinded up against Reid fucking Garwin and felt his hard-on…for her! Damn, and after all the warnings from her new friends.

She burst out the door, letting the cool night air calm her nerves. She leaned against the wall and groaned to herself. What was worse that knowing that Reid was turned on by her, was the way her own body reacted to Reid. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths and tried to stop her thoughts. All she could think about was Reid, his smirk as he looked down at her, the way his body moved against her as they danced. She knew that he would be amazing in bed just by the way he had held her to him as they moved on the dance floor. She was wet just thinking about it.

"Hey, girl, you okay?" Lilly asked sticking her head out the door, holding Clarissa's coat out for her.

"Yeah, I'm alright." She replied, slipping her arms into her coat shivering as she realized how cold she was.

"Well, I'm pooped, I'm gonna head back to the dorm, wanna come?" Lilly asked, stepping outside.

"Sure, I'll come with." Clarissa said, following her roommate back to her car.

Reid smirked as he watched Clarissa flee the bar. She looked really hot when she was turned on. He made his way back to the table. Kate punched him in the arm.

"Ow! Woman, what the hell was that for?" he snapped at her.

"For being a fucking idiot!" she hissed back eyes snapping fire at him, "She's new and you have to go and be a prick." She pointed towards the door where Lilly had just headed with Clarissa's and her own coats. "Go apologize." She demanded.

"What? For what? I was just dancing with her!" he snapped back, really not in the mood for Kate and her insanity. Beside he was hard again despite his play before he came out the Nicky's.

"Just. Go!" she said, thrusting her hand back in the direction of the door.

Reid held up his hands in defeat. He knew what Kate was like when she was pissed, he had the scars to prove it. There was no way he was gonna take the chance on Kate hurting him again, after last time he hadn't been able to move properly for a month.

So he stood and made his way to the door, hands shoved deep in his pockets, head down, scanning the room from beneath his bangs. Stepping out side he didn't see anyone. He gave a shrug and headed back inside.

A tall brunette knockout came his way, "Hey big boy, you up to some tonight?"

Reid gave her a once over, and seriously considered her offer, but all he could see was the panicked look on Clarissa's face and he hated himself for it.

"No thanks, sweetheart." He blew her off, as he made his way back to the table, grabbed his own coat and was out the door before anyone could ask.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Amour Nouvel

Author: Night of the Land

Rating: M (for strong language and some adult themes)

Summary: Clarissa McClarin was new: New to the school, new to the state, new to the country. And she's caught the eye of a certain bad boy hotshot Son of Ipswich: Reid Garwin.

A/N:

Chapter 2

The library was her favorite place in the school. The peaceful calm served to quiet her ever active mind and soul. It was also the one place in the school where she was almost positive she would never run into a certain Son of Ipswich, Reid Garwin. Her pulse quickened at the mere thought of his name and she cursed herself. It had been almost two months since the incident at Nicky's. She and Reid had barely seen each other after that. What was odd was that she got along fine with the other Sons. She enjoyed her battles of wits with Caleb (even though he was a charmer he was actually damn smart), arm wrestling with Pogue (she was almost certain he let her win) and her heart to hearts with Tyler (as the youngest Son he seemed to be the most in tune with his feminine side).

She smirked down at her Calculus homework. She and Tyler had become fast friends, almost like brother and sister over night. She shook her head to clear it slightly and typed in a few numbers into her calculator, consulted it, and wrote out the answer on her paper.

She was deep in thought when her cell phone started vibration against her leg. She jumped sucking in a sharp breath, glad that the library was all but deserted at this time of night. Fishing the sleek pink Razor from her pocket she looked at the screen. Chuckling to herself she flipped it open and opened the text message.

_U still in the lib.?_

Clarissa laughed at the text before she taped out a reply.

_Yuppers, still studying. B back soon, Lil._

Her roommate worried about every one even the people who she didn't need to be worried about. Clarissa chuckled again and turned back to her Calculus homework.

She worked for the next hour or so, pencil scratching away on her paper, tongue picking out from between closed lips as she worked. Suddenly she heard a noise. She stopped all work. Cocking her head she stopped and listened for a moment. All was quiet; there was no sound at all. Biting back a curse she laughed at herself. She must be hearing things; sleep deprivation was the most likely cause. She laughed and turned back to her homework.

A stack of books hitting the desk in front of her made her jump and gasp. Green eyes flicked up to see who had tossed their books down on her desk like that. Green met icy blue and Clarissa felt a blush creep up her neck, before anger replaced her embarrassment. Damn it! Why did he have to be here, in the library, in her self proclaimed sanctuary? Damn!

"Garwin." She growled at him, low and in warning.

He merely smirked at her, before sitting down in the chair across from her. Ignoring her glare, he opened his own Calc book and pad of paper. With a frown she realized that he had already done half the work, and from the looks of the paper, what with the scratched that covered it from all the crossed out work, it seemed that he had done this homework assignment on his own.

"Garwin, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked, setting her pencil down to glare some more at him.

He glanced up from where he had been writing in his notebook. "I'm doing homework. You know the assignments that teachers give us to make our lives hell? The ones that we have to do in order to pass the class?" he replied, raising an eyebrow at her a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

Clarissa narrowed her eyes at him, "No I mean what are you doing in the library? Don't you have a desk in your dorm?"

Reid shook his head at her, turning back to the Calc assignment, "Don't you?" he shot back, before scratching out a number and replacing it with another.

Clarissa pursed her lips slightly before turning back to her own homework. They worked in almost companionable silence for almost thirty minutes before Reid piped up. "What'd you get for number twenty?" he asked, looking up at her.

She glanced up surprised before looking down at her paper, eyes scanning the page before turning it over, "Uh, cosecant of twenty-four." She looked over at him as he tapped his pencil against his chin. There was no denying that he was hot. His blonde hair fell into his eyes and for the first time she noticed he had neither beanie nor his cutoff gloves on. He was missing the earring and he almost seemed human.

"In line six of number twenty, did you have negative twelve, or positive twelve?" he asked, leaning over his paper, pencil at the ready, his voice jerking Clarissa from her thoughts.

"Negative."

"Hm…" Reid murmured, eyes scanning his paper, "Ah, I see." He erased a couple of numbers and fixed the problem. He looked back up at her curious look. "Thanks." He murmured once more looking down at his paper.

Clarissa continued to watch him as he worked. His eyes flicking back and forth from the text book to the paper, the way his eyes narrowed as he thought through a problem, the way the muscles of his arms rippled as he wrote the problems out or typed them into his calculator.

After a moment or so he looked back up at her with a teasing smirk. "What?" he asked.

She shook her head and went back to her work, content to ignore him for the rest of the evening.

Their evenings for the next two weeks were spent in a very similar manner. Clarissa would usually be at the table first; about an hour after she arrived Reid would come in. they would work in a silence that was neither uncomfortable nor forced, merely comfortable. Occasionally one of them would ask the other a question about what ever they were working on. Clarissa was pleasantly surprised to learn that Reid Garwin was not at all the stupid playboy she had taken him for; he was actually very intelligent, almost rivaling his older brother Caleb in the brains department.

Clarissa smirked to herself as she looked at her table partner. He sat hunched over a text book, reading and muttering to himself so quietly she couldn't catch what he was saying. There was something almost endearing about Reid Garwin when he actually studied.

"Garwin?" she asked him, "Garwin?"

"Huh?" he snapped his head up to look at her.

She gestured towards the book he was hunched over. "What are you studying?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow at him.

He flushed bright red and ducked his head. Well that was interesting, she'd never seen him do that before. He muttered something so low she couldn't hear. "I'm sorry, what was that?" she said leaning forward.

He picked up the book and held it up slightly so that she could read the title. She fought back a small laugh. "Aren't you a senior?" she asked, raising the other eyebrow.

He scowled at her, setting the book back down on the table harder than he needed to. Several others in the library shot him dirty looks, but he just ignored them. "I neglected to take any other foreign language courses after freshman year, so yes, I am a senior in French level two." He told her, glaring down at the book as if it offended him greatly.

She smiled at him, "Ah, so that's what's all the muttering is about then." She nodded in understanding, "Would you like some help?" she asked.

Reid cast her a look that clearly said yes, and handed her the book.

There were two weeks left before Christmas break. That meant exams, exams, exams. It also meant that Reid Garwin was panicking for the first time in his life about them. He sat at their table in the library and frowned down at the page before him, honestly, English he just didn't get. What was so important about all these books and plays written by dead guys? He sighed and shifted in his chair, looking across at his study partner and smiled.

He had never intended for it to end up like this. A month ago, as he was taking a short cut through the school to get to his dorm he had passed the library and had seen a light on. Curious he stopped to see who was still up this late studying. Surprised to see the one girl he was after, but who wanted nothing to do with him, sitting in the library neck deep in what looked to be Calculus, his brain formed a plan. First step, Use (just a little) to get his half completed Calc work from his dorm, second step, actually go into the library.

He had just intended for it to be a one night thing, maybe strike up a conversation with Clarissa and get her to start talking to him, but it had actually turned into something that he never expected, homework time. He knew that he needed to do his homework if he didn't want to end up a second year senior, but he just hated it so much. Doing the mundane task with Clarissa sitting across from him didn't make it seem so bad.

Of course, all the time spent in the library and not with his brothers had made them curious. They cornered him in his dorm as he was preparing to meet Clarissa for another study session about two weeks ago, demanding to know what was going on. They were surprised to learn that he was spending that time (not fucking anything that moved that Pogue and Tyler thought he was) but actually studying. Caleb had just moved out of his way, and let him go to the library.

And now as he sat across from Clarissa in said library he sighed and once more tried to focus on the book before him. He saw Clare frown out of the corner of his eye, and he looked up. She was rubbing the spot right between her eyes, frowning at the book, green eyes crossed and unfocused. Making up his mind, he slammed his book shut with a heavy thump, earning glares from the other students in their general proximity.

Clarissa jumped and jerked her head up, shooting Reid a nasty look. "Garwin." She muttered darkly. She never used his given name, as if using it made them someone more than just study-buddies.

"C'mon, we deserve a couple hour break." He said, putting his books back into his bag.

She scowled at him, "We have this exam tomorrow, Garwin, we can't stop…"

"There is only so much we can cram into our heads at once. We've been paying attention in class, and preparing for this exam for nearly a week, we'll be fine." He interrupted her, standing pushing his chair back. "Now, c'mon."

She scowled at him more, but nonetheless packed her own books away and stood. He led her to the door and down the hall.

"Oooh, Garwin, who knew you knew where the library was." A snotty voice called from behind them.

They both turned to see Aaron Abbott stalking up to them, "And with a new bitch too, damn, gone so low to fuck her in the library?"

Reid gave him a mocking smirk. "You know I only get hard for you, Abbott. After all, who can miss you checking me out in the locker room?" he said, laughing slightly as Aaron's face went red with anger.

"You fucking bastard!" Abbott snarled and went for Reid, throwing a punch. Reid side stepped, and hooked a leg behind Abbott's knees sending him to the ground. Abbott's face went even redder, and staggered to his feet and tackled Reid, knocking them both to the floor once more.

Clarissa yelled, dropping her bag, "Reid!"

At the sound of his name from Clarissa Reid stopped fighting halfheartedly. Making sure Clare couldn't see his eyes he Used, and managed to get Abbott pinned to the floor, right arm twisted behind him painfully. "Apologize to the lady, Abbott, apologize for insulting her virtue." He snarled in Abbott's ear.

"Fuck you." Abbott spat at him, only to gasp in pain as Reid twisted his arm harder.

"Reid." Clarissa's soft voice brought Reid from the fog of hate and anger he was in, "I don't need this cretin to apologize for what he said. What he says means nothing, he is not important enough for it to."

Reid looked over his shoulder briefly, before he let go of Abbott, but not before twisting his arm once more. "Run along and play. And don't you ever speak to her again, do you hear me?" he snarled, letting him see is eyes flash briefly.

Aaron nodded and scurried off to plot his revenge.

Reid turned back to Clarissa. She was waking toward him, concern in her bright green eyes. She took his face in her hands, "It's going to swell if you don't get ice on it soon." She told him, "I've got an ice pack back in my dorm." She let her hand fall from his face to rest on his chest, before she flushed and turned away.

She led him across the school to the dorms, eyes flicking over to glance at him occasionally. He walked slowly beside her, a nice shiner already forming around his right eye and cheek. She winced in sympathy, "why do you goad him like that? You could have just walked away." She said, looking at him briefly, as she fished her key out of her bag.

"He has no right to insult you." Was the simple reply, and Clarissa sighed as she fitted the key into the door and pushed it open.

Dropping her bag by her desk, she gestured towards the neatly made bed, "Sit." She commanded, not waiting to see if he complied, before she headed towards the bathroom.

Reid entered the room and closed the door softly behind him, eyes taking in everything. It was every clean, the desks both in order, both beds made, closets closed and no clothes on the floor. So unlike Tyler's and his room. He walked the short space from the door to the bed and sat down gingerly.

Clarissa returned from the bathroom with a small fist aid kit and a cold compress. Setting both the compress and the first aid kit on the bed she knelt before Reid on the floor. "Hands." She demanded holding out her own hand. Taking his hands in her hers, she clucked her tongue sharply before pulling out antiseptic wipes from the kit. Tearing one open, she wiped it over Reid's cut and bleeding knuckles. He hissed and jerked his hands away.

"Oh, quit being a baby." She said teasingly, capturing his hand again.

"It hurts! Ow!" he snapped trying to pull away again, but Clarissa was having none of it.

"If you wouldn't fight, then I wouldn't have to do this and it wouldn't hurt." She snapped back, green eyes piercing him.

Reid didn't reply. He simply stared down at the top of the petite brunette's head as she worked. "What are you doing for break?" he asked suddenly.

Clarissa shot him a look, "Since when do we ask each other personal questions?" she retorted.

"Since you invited me into your room." Reid told her with a saucy smirk, wincing as she was just a little too rough.

There was silence for a moment, before she replied, "Nothing. I'm staying here."

Reid frowned down at her, "Not going home? No family to spend it with?"

She shot him another look as she moved to the left hand, "No, no family, only me aunt and I doubt she'll be home for Christmas anyway."

Reid watched as she finished what she was doing before she packed away her fist aid kit. "Where're your mom and dad?" he asked.

Pain laced across her face quickly before it was gone. She stood from her spot on the floor. "They were killed last year in a car wreck." She said softly before she made her way to the bathroom to replace the kit.

Reid sighed to himself, way to go, he now felt like a total dickhead. "I'm sorry," he told her when she came and sat down beside him, taking the cold compress in her hands.

"It's not your fault." She murmured before she was quiet. Reid sat and watched her. This was not turning out to be the study break he had intended.

"It was November." Clarissa started staring down at her clasped hands, "It was the first snow of the season, and they were coming home from some party or something. As they crossed and intersection, a car coming their way was going too fast for the conditions, couldn't stop and forced them over a small embankment and into a telephone pole." She stopped and stared down at her hands, Reid sat in silence for a moment, unsure what to say. Clarissa looked up at him, green eyes dark, "You're the only person here that I've told."

Reid gave her a small smile in understanding, "My dad died when I was ten, but I can't imagine losing both my parents. I'm so sorry, Clarissa.'

She returned his smile, "It's alright." She said, unconsciously leaning into him. He leaned into her, watching at her eyes fluttered closed and felt desire spike through his veins. He stopped himself, and knowing that his brothers would kill him, said it anyway, "Come to my eighteenth birthday bash?"

Clarissa blinked her eyes open to stare at him in confusion.

"Please?" he entreated, "I'm having a small get together with family and close friends, next Thursday, my birthday. I'd like it if you would come." He told her.

She stared at him for a moment before narrowing her eyes and leaning into to stare more intently at him. "Who are you and what have you done with the Reid Garwin I love to hate? Can I have that arsehole back please?"

Reid barked out a short laugh, "I've always been this person, you just never noticed." He told her a smirk turning up his lips.

She made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat, taking the cold compress and holding it to his cheek. Their eyes locked and Reid's hand drifted up over hers, lacing his fingers with hers, the cold from the compress making his skin tingle. The feel of her slender hand wrapped in his larger one sent tingles of desire down both their spines.

Clarissa's eyes fluttered closed and she leaned in, her heart pounding in her chest. Reid leaned in as well, watching her face, her eyes flickering behind their lids and he let his own eyes close as their lips brushed lightly.

A loud ringing filled the room.

Both teens gasped and jerked away. Reid swore angrily as he dug his phone from his pocket. Clarissa blushed and pulled her hand from Reid's face. As he answered his phone, she realized just how close they were. She scooted away, trying not to listen in on Reid's conversation.

"Yeah….Yeah….Okay, shit, okay, I'm on my way. Yeah, be there in a minute." Reid sighed and hung up his phone rolling his eyes. Damn his brothers, and damn Coach. They still had all season before the Tournaments.

Turning to Clarissa, he gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I have to go, Coach just called a meeting." He told her smile turning into a frown when she just nodded, "Clare?"

Green eyes turned to him, face flushed, eyes overly bright, "Yes?" she murmured back to him.

He leaned into her, scooting closer, "Come to my birthday party?" he whispered, lips so close she could feel them brushing hers as he spoke. She closed her eyes, briefly swallowing hard, before she nodded. "Okay." She whispered back, smiling as their lips brushed again. She sighed into the kiss, before gasping as Reid brought his hand up to cup the back of her neck and deepened the kiss. She stiffened at first, then melted into him, her own hands finding his soft silky platinum blonde hair.

Clarissa pulled back slightly, "You have you go." She murmured against his lips, gasping in a sharp breath as his soft lips trailed across her jaw.

"Mhm." He muttered back in agreement, hands ghosting up her arms, making no move to leave. She sighed at him, and captured his lips again.

"Garwin." She gasped, putting her hands firmly on his chest, "You've to go."

Reid groaned as he pulled away. He looked her up and down. Her face was flushed and her lips were swollen and parted as she breathed deeply. Her hair was mused and her eyes bright. "Okay." He muttered, leaning in for one last kiss, "I'm going." He stood, still kissing her, wrapping his arms around her pulling her up with him.

She gave a moan and sank her hands in his hair, leaning into his hard toned body. Her face flushed as he pulled her completely to him, his hard on resting intimately at her thigh. She arched into him, feeling him moan against her lips. Her hands traveled from his hair down his hard chest. Resting her palms on his chest, she gave a gentle push, "Go."

He moaned in pain as he pulled away, "I'm going." He told her, brushing the hair that had escaped her ponytail back from her face. "Later?" he asked, brushing his thumb across her flushed cheek.

She smiled at him. "Yeah." She said shyly, ducking her head. He cupped her face in his hands and gave her one last sweet lingering kiss. Her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into him, before he pulled away. She stood with her eyes closed, a trembling hand coming to rest on her lips as she heard the door open and close behind her.

Eye fluttering open, she tried to calm her breathing, but found that with the thoughts of what later would bring, she couldn't calm her mind, and with a groan she threw herself down on the bed, yelping as she landed on the discarded cold compress. Picking it up, surprised to see that it was still relatively cold; she held it to her scalding cheeks and willed her desire away.

Reid stopped and leaned briefly against the door that led into Clarissa's room. Giving a low groan he pressed the heel of his hand into his straining erection. This was becoming slightly ridiculous. He needed to find some release and soon or he was going to go nuts. Thinking cold and disgusting thoughts to try and rid himself of his erection, he limped his way to the meeting the swim coach had called.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Amour Nouvel

Author: Night of the Land

Rating: M (for strong language and some adult themes)

Summary: Clarissa McClarin was new: New to the school, new to the state, new to the country. And she's caught the eye of a certain bad boy hotshot Son of Ipswich: Reid Garwin.

A/N: So this story has taken a life of its own, I swear it really has. I had a plan for it, an outline and everything, but it's kinda diverted from all plans and is now a living breathing thing. Really these past chapters have basically written themselves.

In response to some questions I have received, the almost human comment: I was merely stating that his attitude was more polite, more 'human' if you will, not his appearance. He also has found that he can't stop thinking about her, meaning that he really doesn't see any other girl, so the only way he would get release would be by his own hand or her.

I thank everyone who reviewed! They make my day, and help me to get through my other work so that I can get back to my creativeness! And here's chapter 3!

Chapter 3

Reid Garwin collapsed on his bed with a tiny groan. He ached, and he knew it would be worse tomorrow. Shifting to the middle of his bed, he winced slightly. And here he was thinking he was in good shape. This impromptu practice proved otherwise.

He sighed, settling into his covers, not even bothering to remove his clothes, his hair still slight damp from his shower. He closed his eyes, letting his body relax into the soft bed.

Across the room he head Tyler give a sigh of relief as the slightly younger boy settled down as well. "Ow." He heard him moan in pain. Reid chuckled darkly.

"And here I was thinking I was in shape." Reid muttered to his ceiling.

Tyler made a noise that sounded like agreement. "I'm with you, man." He shot back across the room, shifting slightly.

Both boys lay in silence, eyes closed, bodies threatening sleep. With another long sigh, Reid rolled painfully over to glance at his alarm clock.

6:23 flashed back at him in luminescent green numbers.

With yet another painful sigh, he rolled back over onto his back, staring up at his ceiling. He really should get up and continue to study some more, or at the very least change his clothes. But it was no fun to study by yourself, he realized not to long after he had taken over the other side of Clarissa's table.

Clarissa. Her name brought a smile to his face, and desire coiled through his veins. He was almost too tired to be turned on, almost being the key word, but there was something about her. She certainly was something, a force to be reckoned with. Like a tiny brown headed whirl wind, she swept into his life and mucked up the waters. Before her he had had no problems with picking up any girl that met his fancy, but recently the only girl he had his eyes on was her. Any one else just felt like he was cheating… even though they weren't even together.

With a fetid curse he vaulted from his bed. Together… later… he was supposed to meet her later. "Shit." He swore again, not even bothering with the buttons, slipped his shirt over his head.

"Wha?" Tyler asked, lifting only his head from his pillow, watching as his best friend hopped around their dorm on one foot as he pulled his school loafers off.

"I have to meet…someone." Reid told him, his voice muffled as he pulled a green grey sweat shirt over his head. Hastily pulling jeans on, he was once more on one foot as he tied his shoes.

Tyler let a little laugh out, "Must be important…. Just a sec ago you wanted to die." He said wistfully to his brother.

Reid stopped, casting a look over at the youngest of his brothers. He smirked at him; "Yeah..." he trailed off, fighting the urge to just grin. He shook himself mentally, before grabbing his keys from his desk and his beanie. "Be back in a bit, Baby Boy, don't wait up."

He closed the door just in time to miss being hit by a flying pillow. He chuckled as he mounted the stairs, grimacing as the stiffness in his muscles made itself know. Trice damn swim practice, he just hurt. Coming to Clarissa's floor he headed down the hallway, once more fighting the grin.

Stopping in front of the wooden door, he lifted a hesitant hand to knock, he stopped, rolled his eyes, the rapped his knuckles on the wood. Inside he head someone scrapping around, and a moment later the door opened.

"Garwin?" Lilly James greeted him, eyes wide then narrowed in suspicion.

"James." He greeted back, trying to peer around her into the room, "Is Clare there?" he asked, giving a mental wince at her glare.

"What if she's not? Why do you care? So you can officially say that you fucked every girl in school?" Lilly demanded, folding her arms across her chest.

Reid clenched his fists at his side, and took a deep breath, "We were supposed to meet later tonight. Do you know where she is?" he asked, giving her a hopeful and slightly abashed look at the same time.

Lilly gazed at him a moment longer, her blue eyes cold and hard before she rolled said eyes. "She's down at Jimmy's. You know the skating rink, she left about ten minutes ago." She told him.

Reid gave her a charming smile and a tiny kiss on the cheek, "Thanks, Lil!" he dashed away.

"Don't you hurt her, Reid Garwin!" Lilly shouted after him as he raced down the hall way, shaking her tiny fist in his direction.

Reid simply raised a hand to wave her warning off as he dashed down the stairs. The ache in his muscles all but forgotten.

* * *

Clarissa had let her hair down to flow around her shoulders as she glided around the rink. A little could of breath appeared in front of her face as she skated, a smile on her face, arms held away from her body. Grin widening she pushed off with her foot picked up speed, skating circles around the rink. The wind cold air blowing back her hair made her laugh in joy.

Taking a breath she set up for a Lutz and with a thrill of adrenaline through of her veins wrapped her arms around herself and gave a gasping laugh as she hit the ice still upright. Swinging back around, with her back to the entrance on the ice, she settled into a sit spin, hair whipping around her head.

Clapping from behind her made her stagger to a stop, spinning on her heel she saw platinum blonde hair first then saw its owner. She grinned, making her way to the wall. He stood next to the entrance onto the ice, a smile on his face.

She did a hockey stop and sprayed him with ice. He laughed and wiped the water from his face.

"Wow." He said with a laugh, "Who knew? You're really good." He told her, taking her hand as she leaned over the wall.

Clarissa blushed slightly at him, "Not really but thanks." She told him, letting him give her a smile kiss on the lips.

"You're welcome. Sorry I didn't meet you sooner, Coach called practice." He told her, brushing his thumb along her cheek.

She smiled at him. "It's okay… I take it Lilly told you where I was." She said, giving a knowing nod when he answered in the affirmative. Green eyes met icy blue and she gave him a devilish smirk, "Have you ever skated before?" she asked.

Reid gave her a look, "Uh, when I was real young, like two I think…why?" he replied, shifting uncomfortably under her intense gaze.

"Well, c'mon then, go rent some skates, and join me…" she laughed as he began to protest, kissing him quickly, "Think of it as a first date." She murmured against his lips, before pushing off the wall and out to the middle of the ice again.

He blushed slightly at her, wondering at himself, he felt like he was thirteen again, blushing anytime a girl even looked in his direction. Watching her for a moment before he turned and headed to go rent some skates he found that he liked that feeling.

Clarissa tried not to laugh, but she just couldn't help it. If only she had her camera! Smothering a giggle, she glided up next to a struggling Garwin. He was clutching the wall for dear life, as if when he let go the world would open and swallow him. His face was pale and his eyes wide at her.

"Give me your hand." She told him, stopping beside him, holding out her own hands, smiling reassuringly at him.

He gave her a look, and swallowed hard. "C'mon, Garwin, trust me. I won't let you fall." She coaxed, giggling as he took her hands, and with a hopeless look back at the safety of the wall allowed her to lead him out on the ice.

Skating backwards, she smiled at him, "Just like walking, one foot in front of the other." She said his grip relaxing as he got more comfortable.

Reid sent her a smile, squeezing her hand, "Ha, not as hard I thought." He said, with a cocky grin.

"Keep telling yourself that tough guy," she giggled, slipping her hands from his, biting back as laugh as he flailed his arms slightly before balancing again. She skated a circle around him, smiling, "See, easy as pie." She told him, taking his hand, leading him around the rink slowly.

Reid let loose a little laugh as the gentle breeze they generated blew in his face. He could see why Clare would want to come here. It was peaceful. He looked over at his skating partner, and wondered at her. She seemed to be everywhere in his life suddenly, study partner, skating partner, swim cheerleader (if only in his head).

Clarissa caught him staring and smiled at him, "What?" she asked, as they once more leisurely skated around the rink, just enjoying being together. She even found that she didn't mind his fingers laced with hers, in fact it was kinda nice.

"Nothing." He shook his head, returning her smile, simply enjoying being with her.

They skated for about an hour. Talking about everything and yet nothing at all. Clarissa told him of her home, a smaller manor just out side of Brecon Beacons in Trecastle. About how the lane leading to her family's home was line with Daphne mezereum that flowered in the winter with beautiful red blossoms.

Reid told her of his life growing up in Ipswich, his deep companionship with his brothers and for some reason, he spoke of his fear in disappointing them, afraid that he wouldn't live up what he thought his brothers thought he should be.

After they had skated their fill, Clarissa led him to a small café that served coffee even close to nine o'clock in the evening. They sat in the café, talking and laughing before Clare happened to look down at her watch.

"Shit!" she gasped, jumping up from the table, her hands wrenched from Reid's.

"What? What's wrong, Clare?" he asked, looking up at her.

She grabbed her coat and his hand, pulling him from the café, "We have an English exam tomorrow at eight o'clock!"

Reid looked down at his own watched. Funny how time always seemed to pass by him when he was with Clare. It was almost eleven. Damn.

"Do you need a ride?" he asked, his breath little clouds before him, and he shivered. It was cold, and it looked like snow.

"No," she said, "I drove down here. Thanks for the offer though." She smiled at him, as they re-entered the rink's parking lot. They stopped in front of a faded red PT Cruiser. "This is me." She murmured.

He nodded, leaning down to kiss her gently. For some reason he just couldn't get enough of kissing this girl. There was something in her taste, chocolate sandalwood and something uniquely Clarissa that made him ache for her. Gasping into the kiss she brought her hands up to thread in his hair, sinking under his beanie cap. He moaned into her lips, pushing her against the car, biting down on her bottom lip as she gasped.

She pulled away with a smile on her lips. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.

Reid nodded, "Yes." He whispered, kissing her one last time, pulling back gazing down at the girl he held in his arms. They stared up at each other before a single snow flake fell and landed on the tip of Clarissa's nose. She giggled and smiled.

"See you tomorrow." He murmured, as she got in her car. He shut the door for her, leaning in her window when she rolled it down, "Be careful." He told her.

"I will." She said, reaching up and grabbing his beanie from his head. Laughing at his "hey!" she pulled it down over her own hair, looking at herself in the rear view mirror. "I like it." She said, smirking, "What'd you think?"

Reid laughed at her, brushing his hand down her cheek, "Looks better on you anyway." He told her, before he smiled and backed away, "Be careful." He said again, giving the sky a concerned look.

Clarissa gave him a smile, "I promise." She said, before she rolled up the window and left the parking lot.

Reid stood for a moment in the gentle snow watching the tail lights until she past around a bend and he could no longer see them.

* * *

Reid Garwin stared down at his exam paper in utter distain. What the hell? Why was any of this important anyway? He just didn't get it. Glancing down at his watch he gave a silent groan. It had only been twenty minutes into this two hour exam, and already he had no idea what was going on.

Sighing heavily, he picked up his pen, hoping that he could BS this exam. I mean c'mon, how hard is it to BS multiple choice? He's got a twenty-five percent chance. Sighing once more he turned back to the first page and began, writing the letters next to words that he thought were vaguely familiar.

By the time he had finished the multiple choice, he looked at his watch. It had been another forty minutes. Only an hour left to finish the essay. Damn. He glanced around the room from under his bangs and smiled.

Sitting a row in front of him and to his left sat Clarissa McClarin. Her head was bent low over her paper, her back hunched, and her hand flying as she wrote out the answers. He smirked when he saw that she had on his black beanie cap, pulled low over her dark hair that was down and long. She cocked her head to the side momentarily and sat up.

Reid admired the way she moved. Her body flexing under her school uniform, the sleeves of her white oxford pushed back, tie loose and her blazer hanging over the back of her chair. She turned slightly to look his way, and he noticed she was wearing thick rimmed glasses. Brown eyes met blue and Clarissa smiled at him. Reid raised an eye brow. 'Brown eyes?' he thought, 'thought they were green.'

He shrugged, just one more mystery for him to find out about Clare. Even after spending almost the whole night with her last night he was still amazed by her. He grimaced as he thought back to last night after they had parted. Checking his phone, he had found fourteen missed calls from his brothers, twenty messages from his brothers and four voicemails from guess who, his brothers.

After sneaking back into his dorm he had gotten what-for from Tyler, who in Reid's opinion worried like a girl. He rolled his eyes at the thought and looked back over at Clare. She was still hard at work on the essay. Heaving another sigh, decide he should follow her example, he set to work on the essay that he had less than an hour to complete.

The lunch room was strangely quiet when Reid and Clarissa entered two hours after setting foot in exam room. The students seem to have either fallen asleep at their lunch tables or where back in their dorms sleeping.

"Oh, it was horrible." Clarissa bemoaned, sitting down at a deserted table.

Reid chuckled at her, sitting down on the other side of the table. "From where I was you didn't seem to be having any problems." He told her with a laugh, taking her hand in his, lacing his fingers through hers.

She sighed, and placed her head down on her folded arms. "It was still horrible." She murmured.

"Yeah, they shouldn't be allowed to give us exams on Fridays, anyway." Reid agreed, gazing loving down at the top of his hat. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get his hat back anytime soon, and that was just fine with him.

Clarissa lifted her head to roll her eyes at him. He smirked at her. "Can't really see your eyes when you do that. I didn't know you wore glasses." He commented, brushing his thumb against her cheek.

She smiled at him, "I usually wear contacts, but I slept in them last night so I wanted to give my eyes a chance to breath." She told him. Taking his hand, turning it over and tracing a pattern over his palm.

"Oh, so your eyes are brown?" he asked gazing at her, smiling when she smiled up at him.

"Got a problem with that, Garwin?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him, her tone mockingly serious.

He shook his head at her, leaning forward to steal a kiss. She giggled when he pulled back. "Guess not," she whispered against his lips.

Reid pulled back as his phone vibrated against his leg. Giving her an apologetic look he pulled his hands from hers and fished his phone out. He rolled his eyes when he saw the number and the message.

_Engs a bitch u want food ill by_

He laughed and looked up at Clarissa. "You want something other than school food? Pogue's buying." He asked smiling at her.

Clarissa shook her head, "No, I'm good, me an Lil are going to Nicky's later anyway." She told him, "celebrate the fact that we have one exam left."

Reid nodded and typed back a message:

_Naw, im good c u later_

He looked up from his phone and caught her staring. "What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She shook her head, "Nothing." She replied, but continued to stare. There was something about Reid Garwin that was different, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. He could be sweet and in the same breath a jerk. Just sitting here with him across from her set her blood on fire and she felt her body flush. She didn't know how she could look him in the eye after all the nights she woke in a cold sweat, horny as hell after having erotic dreams about the boy sitting across from her now. She clenched her teeth as desire rippled through her at the mere thought.

He took her hands back in his, "You sure you're okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.

She nodded, giving him a smile, cocking her head to one side. There was something she had been meaning to ask him, now what was it? Oh yeah. "Garwin?" she muttered, giving his hands a squeeze.

"Yeah?" he muttered back, locking eyes with her, happy that he was seeing the real colour of her eyes for the first time.

"What do you want for your birthday?" she asked simply.

He gave a short laugh at her unexpected question, trying to fight back the cold chill that ran down his spin at the thought of his eighteenth birthday.

"You." The answer was out before he could stop it, and he swore to himself as her face heated up and she pulled her hands from his.

She stood, face beat red, and grab her school back. "I, uh, I have to, uh... I have to go." She murmured turning to leave.

"Clare." he pulled her to a stop, "I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"It's okay, Reid, really, you did mean it." She told him, before she swept from the cafeteria.

Reid stood in total shock at her reply, kicking himself. After almost two months of watching what he said, and getting on her good side, and the amazing night they had spent last night, he had to go and open his big fat mouth. It didn't what scared him more, the fact that she knew he really did mean what he said, or the fact that she had used his given name.


End file.
